A great speech indeed. Fantastic!
Posted By: kam on 2007-11-17
In Reply to: Great speech by the mayor of Salt Lake City. sm - LVMT
I loved the whole speech, but here are 2 of my favorite paragraphs from it:
“Because of you, and because of your jingoistic false ‘patriotism,’ our world is far more dangerous, our nation is far more despised, and the threat of terrorism is far greater than ever before.
It has been absolutely astounding how you have committed the most horrendous acts, causing such needless tragedy in the lives of millions of people, yet you wear your so-called religion on your sleeves, asserting your God-is-on-my-side nonsense – when what you have done flies in the face of any religious or humanitarian tradition. Your hypocrisy is mind-boggling – and disgraceful. What part of “Thou shalt not kill” do you not understand? What part of the “Golden rule” do you not understand? What part of “be honest,” “be responsible,” and “be accountable” don’t you understand? What part of “Blessed are the peacekeepers” do you not understand?"
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Fantastic speech -looking forward for the debate
nm
What a great speech........
so handsome, with his captivating smile, terrific speaker, cool under pressure, so humble, refined and much more...CHANGE IS HERE, CONGRATULATIONS to the American people and the world.
Great speech by the mayor of Salt Lake City. sm
Speech by Mayor Rocky Anderson, democrat, on 10/27/07. They should bump Hillary and put this guy out there.
Salt Lake City, Utah --
Today, as we come together once again in this great city, we raise our voices in unison to say to President Bush, to Vice President Cheney, to other members of the Bush Administration (past and present), to a majority of Congress, including Utah’s entire congressional delegation, and to much of the mainstream media: “You have failed us miserably and we won’t take it any more.”
“While we had every reason to expect far more of you, you have been pompous, greedy, cruel, and incompetent as you have led this great nation to a moral, military, and national security abyss.”
“You have breached trust with the American people in the most egregious ways. You have utterly failed in the performance of your jobs. You have undermined our Constitution, permitted the violation of the most fundamental treaty obligations, and betrayed the rule of law.”
“You have engaged in, or permitted, heinous human rights abuses of the sort never before countenanced in our nation’s history as a matter of official policy. You have sent American men and women to kill and be killed on the basis of lies, on the basis of shifting justifications, without competent leadership, and without even a coherent plan for this monumental blunder.”
“We are here to tell you: We won’t take it any more!”
“You have acted in direct contravention of values that we, as Americans who love our country, hold dear. You have deceived us in the most cynical, outrageous ways. You have undermined, or allowed the undermining of, our constitutional system of checks and balances among the three presumed co-equal branches of government. You have helped lead our nation to the brink of fascism, of a dictatorship contemptuous of our nation’s treaty obligations, federal statutory law, our Constitution, and the rule of law.”
“Because of you, and because of your jingoistic false ‘patriotism,’ our world is far more dangerous, our nation is far more despised, and the threat of terrorism is far greater than ever before.
It has been absolutely astounding how you have committed the most horrendous acts, causing such needless tragedy in the lives of millions of people, yet you wear your so-called religion on your sleeves, asserting your God-is-on-my-side nonsense – when what you have done flies in the face of any religious or humanitarian tradition. Your hypocrisy is mind-boggling – and disgraceful. What part of “Thou shalt not kill” do you not understand? What part of the “Golden rule” do you not understand? What part of “be honest,” “be responsible,” and “be accountable” don’t you understand? What part of “Blessed are the peacekeepers” do you not understand?
Because of you, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, many thousands of people have suffered horrendous lifetime injuries, and millions have been run off from their homes. For the sake of our nation, for the sake of our children, and for the sake of our brothers and sisters around the world, we are morally compelled to say, as loudly as we can, ‘We won’t take it any more!’ ”
“As United States agents kidnap, disappear, and torture human beings around the world, you justify, you deceive, and you cover up. We find what you have done to men, women and children, and to the good name and reputation of the United States, so appalling, so unconscionable, and so outrageous as to compel us to call upon you to step aside and allow other men and women who are competent, true to our nation’s values, and with high moral principles to stand in your places – for the good of our nation, for the good of our children, and for the good of our world.”
In the case of the President and Vice President, this means impeachment and removal from office, without any further delay from a complacent, complicit Congress, the Democratic majority of which cares more about political gain in 2008 than it does about the vindication of our Constitution, the rule of law, and democratic accountability.
It means the election of people as President and Vice President who, unlike most of the presidential candidates from both major parties, have not aided and abetted in the perpetration of the illegal, tragic, devastating invasion and occupation of Iraq. And it means the election of people as President and Vice President who will commit to return our nation to the moral and strategic imperative of refraining from torturing human beings.
In the case of the majority of Congress, it means electing people who are diligent enough to learn the facts, including reading available National Intelligence Estimates, before voting to go to war. It means electing to Congress men and women who will jealously guard Congress’s sole prerogative to declare war. It means electing to Congress men and women who will not submit like vapid lap dogs to presidential requests for blank checks to engage in so-called preemptive wars, for legislation permitting warrantless wiretapping of communications involving US citizens, and for dangerous, irresponsible, saber-rattling legislation like the recent Kyl-Lieberman amendment.
We must avoid the trap of focusing the blame solely upon President Bush and Vice-President Cheney. This is not just about a few people who have wronged our country – and the world. They were enabled by members of both parties in Congress, they were enabled by the pathetic mainstream news media, and, ultimately, they have been enabled by the American people – 40% of whom are so ill-informed they still think Iraq was behind the 9/11 attacks – a people who know and care more about baseball statistics and which drunken starlets are wearing underwear than they know and care about the atrocities being committed every single day in our name by a government for which we need to take responsibility.
As loyal Americans, without regard to political partisanship -- as veterans, as teachers, as religious leaders, as working men and women, as students, as professionals, as businesspeople, as public servants, as retirees, as people of all ages, races, ethnic origins, sexual orientations, and faiths -- we are here to say to the Bush administration, to the majority of Congress, and to the mainstream media: “You have violated your solemn responsibilities. You have undermined our democracy, spat upon our Constitution, and engaged in outrageous, despicable acts. You have brought our nation to a point of immorality, inhumanity, and illegality of immense, tragic, unprecedented proportions.”
“But we will live up to our responsibilities as citizens, as brothers and sisters of those who have suffered as a result of the imperial bullying of the United States government, and as moral actors who must take a stand: And we will, and must, mean it when we say ‘We won’t take it any more.’”
If we want principled, courageous elected officials, we need to be principled, courageous, and tenacious ourselves. History has demonstrated that our elected officials are not the leaders – the leadership has to come from us. If we don’t insist, if we don’t persist, then we are not living up to our responsibilities as citizens in a democracy – and our responsibilities as moral human beings. If we remain silent, we signal to Congress and the Bush administration – and to candidates running for office – and to the world – that we support the status quo.
Silence is complicity. Only by standing up for what’s right and never letting down can we say we are doing our part.
Our government, on the basis of a campaign we now know was entirely fraudulent, attacked and militarily occupied a nation that posed no danger to the United States. Our government, acting in our name, has caused immense, unjustified death and destruction.
It all started five years ago, yet where have we, the American people, been? At this point, we are responsible. We get together once in a while at demonstrations and complain about Bush and Cheney, about Congress, and about the pathetic news media. We point fingers and yell a lot. Then most people politely go away until another demonstration a few months later.
How many people can honestly say they have spent as much time learning about and opposing the outrages of the Bush administration as they have spent watching sports or mindless television programs during the past five years? Escapist, time-sapping sports and insipid entertainment have indeed become the opiate of the masses.
Why is this country so sound asleep? Why do we abide what is happening to our nation, to our Constitution, to the cause of peace and international law and order? Why are we not doing all in our power to put an end to this madness?
We should be in the streets regularly and students should be raising heck on our campuses. We should be making it clear in every way possible that apologies or convoluted, disingenuous explanations just don’t cut it when presidential candidates and so many others voted to authorize George Bush and his neo-con buddies to send American men and women to attack and occupy Iraq.
Let’s awaken, and wake up the country by committing here and now to do all each of us can to take our nation back. Let them hear us across the country, as we ask others to join us: “We won’t take it any more!”
I implore you: Draw a line. Figure out exactly where your own moral breaking point is. How much will you put up with before you say “No more” and mean it?
I have drawn my line as a matter of simple personal morality: I cannot, and will not, support any candidate who has voted to fund the atrocities in Iraq. I cannot, and will not, support any candidate who will not commit to remove all US troops, as soon as possible, from Iraq. I cannot, and will not, support any candidate who has supported legislation that takes us one step closer to attacking Iran. I cannot, and will not, support any candidate who has not fought to stop the kidnapping, disappearances, and torture being carried on in our name.
If we expect our nation’s elected officials to take us seriously, let us send a powerful message they cannot misunderstand. Let them know we really do have our moral breaking point. Let them know we have drawn a bright line. Let them know they cannot take our support for granted – that, regardless of their party and regardless of other political considerations, they will not have our support if they cannot provide, and have not provided, principled leadership.
The people of this nation may have been far too quiet for five years, but let us pledge that we won’t let it go on one more day – that we will do all we can to put an end to the illegalities, the moral degradation, and the disintegration of our nation’s reputation in the world.
Let us be unified in drawing the line – in declaring that we do have a moral breaking point. Let us insist, together, in supporting our troops and in gratitude for the freedoms for which our veterans gave so much, that we bring our troops home from Iraq, that we return our government to a constitutional democracy, and that we commit to honoring the fundamental principles of human rights.
In defense of our country, in defense of our Constitution, in defense of our shared values as Americans – and as moral human beings – we declare today that we will fight in every way possible to stop the insanity, stop the continued military occupation of Iraq, and stop the moral depravity reflected by the kidnapping, disappearing, and torture of people around the world.
McCain's speech was well written (for him, I doubt he wrote it himself), but he is not a great s
He does not have 'it'.
Obama has 'it'.
Well done, Obama.
Me three...he recites a great speech from the monitor......casual speaking is definitely
Fantastic
Thanks, Democrat!
It's fantastic
Who could have predicted in the gloom-and-doom and steady erosion of our national greatness that such an event could even be possible? I am amazed at our great nation and the trail-blazing paths we forge. So blessed to live in this country.
That is fantastic!
I have been canning for years, too, it is very easy to do. Just get a copy of the Ball Blue Book - it will give you step-by-step instructions (This is not intended for you, but the poster you were responding to). You can order it online. It is invaluable.
What you are doing helping your neighbors is fantastic and very selfless. I think if everyone thought like you, this world would be a better place.
I wouldn't worry too much about what posters on here say. There are some very nice, helpful people, but then there are the ones who just come here to blow off steam and cut down any and everyone. Just ignore them. Most of us know and just pay them no mind.
IT'S FANTASTIC!!!!
My husband's employer (who laid him off) called today to tell us that we will only have to pay 35% of our COBRA now due to the stimulus - THANK GOD!!! From $800 a month to $275 - YES WE CAN!!!
Fantastic article
What a fantastic article. Thank you for this! Now, I wish all this holy roller Xtian bigots would be quiet about jewish people.
She's beautiful and looks fantastic...
she has a style all her own and she looks great in sleeveless dresses. If anyone was trying to copy Jackie O - it would be Nancy Regan with her little red suits and pillbox hats......
"kill him" speech is not acceptable free speech - it is against the law - nm
x
Two Fantastic Olbermann videos.
(I hope this post doesn't get deleted. I'm copying and saving this, just in case, and then if it's deleted again, maybe I can just email the links to those who might be interested in seeing these excellent clips.)
#1: Reinventing the Geneva Conventions (with Jonathan Turley regarding Bush wanting to cover his butt for past illegal deeds):
http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=0A4170EF-8025-4E39-A3D3-1AC55264927D&f=00&fg=copy
#2: It's Unacceptable to Think (Bush's response to Colin Powell's thoughts)
http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=42E1A2A9-D35F-4453-868B-A96C9E0D2B34&f=00&fg=copy
I saw the same thing....she was absolutely fantastic....sm
and handled herself with grace.
She is a natural born leader, and woe to the other side, who does not recognize it.
She's going all the way to the white house.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/Story?id=5782924&page=1
Applauding your fantastic post Teddy. (NT)
:-)
Fantastic post Piglet. From Whorn s/m
Thanks for your post piglet. It seems a number of us share concerns regarding the current system. I currently have health insurance, but due to my age of over 55 and a few minor preexisting conditions I am unable to secure health insurance for below $13.000,00 a year. I am able to deduct 100% of my premiun on my taxes. I pay no federal tax as a result, but the lessened dollar amout off of off my taxes is about $150.00 a year, and does really make a dent in my $!3,000 annual health premium.
FANTASTIC!! Best news I've heard all day. (nm)
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Great post, great insight, great analysis, thanks!..nm
nm
Great, great post. Thank you, Marmann! nm
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the speech
I heard, I am very old and I suffered greatly at the hands of the enemy. Did I ever tell you I was a POW? I suffered greatly. Please feel sorry for me and vote for me. I deserve it. I suffered greatly. No economic plan, no health insurance plan, just I suffered greatly. Sarah's speech was John suffered greatly. No one else has suffered as much as he. Joe Biden's loss of family members and Obama's struggle with identity because of being mixed race do not qualify. This is an election about the issues of the american people not a Queen for A Day episode where the person with the saddest story gets a new washing machine.
The Speech to Nowhere
http://www.truthout.org/article/palins-speech-nowhere
Anybody see O's speech about
10:30 this morning? If he can accomplish half of what he talked about, I'll have a little more faith in him.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/03/president-to-ta.html
So much for your pre-speech intelligence
He did talk about the war.... Hey, wait a minute, your intelligence was bad....You lied to us!!! You twisted the information to fit your post...Don't you want to apologize and tell us all what a terrible mistake you made!!!!  How does it feel to be called a liar without justification?
Freedom of speech, LOL
Freedom of speech? To get up there and state you believe A WHOLE SOCIETY OF PEOPLE, A WHOLE ETHNICITY OF PEOPLE OUGHT TO BE ABORTED? Yet, you people jump all over Cindy Sheehan when she rags on Bush, LOL..You jump all over anti war people when we scream..STOP THIS WAR..But NOW you are stating freedom of speech..LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL..Better to shut up now about Bennett, cause you sure are looking silly..
and this wise speech comes from a man
who admitted he's had too many wives, done too many drugs....and was happy to admit he inhaled.
Ahhh the credibility....
That's the only line you took from the speech...sm
But you think Bush who admits that he did drugs - obviously inhaled or sniffed, and was an alcoholic is a living testimony of credibility. Is there a double standard here?
Ah, yes. Freedom of speech.
I remember it well.
It was a cute joke. In case any of you missed it before it was removed from the board, one of the many places it can be found is http://www.justpetehere.com/2004/11/george_bush_pas.html.
Better do it quickly, though, because this post is sure to be removed as soon as the Cons start whining again.
freedom of speech
Check out the St. Pete Times, Sunday, 11/13/05, The Perspective, article by Robin Blummer. Sorry I don't have the link but it is easy to find. Talk about scary. By the way, I see that there are a number of comments to posts listed on the board but they are not available to see. Is this a new policy...we know people read or responded but we can't see what the response is?
the speech, annotated...
http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0111-25.htm
Long but worth the read.
do you or do you not believe in freedom of speech....
and do you or do you not believe in the right of people to have opinions different from those and voice them? Is someone holding a gun to your head and forcing you to read my posts? You might be more comfortable in Russia where it is the policy of the counry to control thought that does not agree with the party line.
Do you believe in free speech?
If so, please allow me mine.
If you believe Obama's SPEECH,
nm
her speech, and debate later. I think
nm
Freedom of speech.
Freedom of speech is freedom to all.
When watching TV if there is something I don't like I change the channel. I would suggest you do the same on this board instead of trying to silence those you don't agree with.
Keep on postin sam - you must be hitting home if there are those who want to silence you.
acceptance speech
was written by Bush speech writer. But there is not connection between the McCains and the Bushs. Mere coincidence. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
FYI, the prompter went out during her speech
at the convention -- but you didn't know it by watching her! I have every confidence she can handle whatever comes her way. she is a quick study, with common sense and intelligence.
Hate speech
You are a racist a__hole. Who cares what you think?
So is freedom of speech.
If the lady wants to talk about religion, so what? It's not like she's gonna get into office and make us all abide by her religion - Pa-leeeze!!!
Freedom of Speech? Think Again.
Hyscience
No, more like all the hate speech
"energizes" fanatic fervor and mobilizes race-baiting hoaxters, cyberspace skinhead assassination plots and the other more than 500 threats to Obama. See link.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=6123157&page=1
I didn't see his speech
But I did read an article in the news. I notice that Bush's "help" is going to require union workers to get in line with non-union workers by the end of next year (can you say PAY CUT). I do agree with doing away with the job bank. Not one word did I read about his demanding deep cuts for the EXECS!!!! Of course they are his buds and they need those private jets and billions in bonuses. Makes me sick.
Bush's Speech
Bush was surprisingly coherent and articulate in explaining the bailout and its reasoning. His plan, by the way, is virtually identical to the one that the White House and Senate Democrats hammered out and Senate Republicans stonewalled a couple weeks ago.
The pay cut for auto workers is nonbinding, and there are limits on executive pay.
Maybe he should have made his speech in the 50s then.
His hate speech is not in line with today's reality. In most major cities, and for most young people, the black culture is the dominant culture. Fashion, music, media, sports - look at today's icons.
His speech was racist and makes me sick, because it is only going to spawn - guess what - MORE racism. If this is how the Obama presidency is going to be run, I predict the ranks of the KKK will be full to bursting by the time his first term is over.
freedom of speech
Hillary said that Bill always was a hard dog to keep on the porch. So what. At least we weren't embroiled in an unjustified war, we had a SURPLUS in the treasury and the whole country wasn't going to the dogs. I believe in the 1st amendment - she can say whatever she wants. Take some cojones to talk about propriety................look at dubya and turd blossom.
This man has NEVER believe in free speech
He has made no secret of his belief that our constitution is NOT a static document, which it is. He believes it should be a "living" document, so he can make up things as he goes along.
This guy is so uptight and immature that he continually makes comments about Hannity and O'Reilly and Limbaugh. What rock did he crawl out from under? Too bad when he decided to come back to this country he didn't learn that FREE SPEECH mean just that, FREE SPEECH!!
Of course, he doesn't believe in our constitution anyway, so it shouldn't be a surprise.
Anyone in his position who obsesses over a few conservative talk heads isn't mature at all but this guy is so messed up, he actually believes he has the right to censor talk show hosts just 'cause he doesn't like them...... now that is a dangerous dictator!!!
Well, in his speech last night, he sure
seemed to be trying to put fear at the retreat. He started out calm enough but before it was over, he was livid, blaming the pubs for everything. He WAS trying to put fear in the dems to the words that they HAVE to pass this bill. No way was he going to let it fail. He wants the package the way it is. He doesn't want to compromise on this package no matter what he says to the media with his smiling face.
What did you think of PM Brown's speech
Don't get me wrong. I love England a lot (many of my family came from that country, have visited it and the people of England are wonderful people), but I caught PM Brown's speech the other day and I though it was... well "lame" for lack of a better term. He was kissing the behinds of the people to get funding from America his nose was covered in feces. I see he has also been studying President Obama's speeches and it was so blatantly obvious. President Obama is probably one of the greatest in giving speeches. No doubt about that, but this was clearly an imitation of Obama's past speeches. (We are not blue states and we are not red states, we are the United States). Here Mr. Brown says "There is no old Europe, there is no new Europe, there is only your friend Europe". The way he presented his speech all I could think of was that Obama's speech writers wrote it for him. All I thought of was how lame.
Just curious what your opinions are. Mine is that America does not have the funds to be sending money over to England. Unemployment is rising, home loss is on the rise and they are trying to have us send money to them??? Maybe I'm wrong about this but I just think it's very arrogant, as was his speech to congress.
I also heard that I guess it didn't go as well as England had planned because now The Queen is having a private meeting with Mr. Obama.
Just wondered what others opinions are.
Each to his own....... that's why we have "free speech"
xx
Deplorable speech!
What was breathtakingly shocking about Obama's speech is that he proposes "oversight" of executive decisions by the other branches of government under the guise of the principle of "checks-and-balances". As a former Constitutional lawyer, even he has to know that this was never what was meant by that principle for the simple reason that it abrogates executive responsibilities to the other branches.
Never mind that he failed to say what would happen if one of these other branches says "No you can't do that". Would the third branch then resolve the question?
Never mind that such a process would mean that the executive - which must often make critical defense decisions in minutes - couldn't act for days or months.
Never mind that he fails to mention that such a misapplication of "checks-and-balances" would set a precedent so that the next President could insist on exercising "oversight" over the Congress and the courts.
We shouldn't be surprised by this, though. This administration has demonstrated a shocking disregard for Constitutional principles from the very moment it took office and continues to do so to this very day.
Anyone who understands the principles of this country will have been very, very disturbed by Obama's speech today. And the country is getting sick of the blame game, too, Mr. President. At some point you should go into the Oval Office and see if you can find out who's President now. That's where the buck stops.
I think you have the wrong speech...(sm)
the discussion is about when he was talking in Turkey.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIVd7YT0oWA&feature=related
I really doubt that O's speech had such
a big impact on the voters, in Lebanon and the EU, to change the outcome of the elections.
The EU voters changed to conservative, as so many poor countries were taken into the EU, and many countries were against this.
Turkey, a foremost Muslim country, is trying to get approved into the EU, causing a big controversy.
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